The Novel Computer / Le littératronRobert Escarpit
Fair condition
Escarpit, a French academic and pioneer in the field of information theory, initially intended this satire – wherein a computer is trained to output meaningful literary content – as a caricature of the institutional grantmaking practices in the French Academy. The book was translated into English and published in the UK only once, in 1966. Since then the novel’s plot, which sees the titular Littératron computer go from producing novels to popular political platforms, has become unfortunately only more relevant.